


Sunsets

by Zimithrus1



Series: ClackWeek2018!! [2]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Clack, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Rhyming, Short One Shot, Sorry Not Sorry, Sunsets, XD, clackweek2018, i wanted to try something a touch poetic for this one, no seriously, ooh, the first and last sentence of almost every paragraph rhymes, zakkura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:39:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15629943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zimithrus1/pseuds/Zimithrus1
Summary: Cloud spends his last moments gazing at a fleeting sunset full of uncertainty, but a familiar face he thought he'd never see again comes to comfort him before the end.Clackweek2018 Day 2: Sunset





	Sunsets

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I know I'm a day late here, but by the time I got home last night, it was too late for me to upload it, so I'll just be uploading this one today to make up for it. ^^; Hope you enjoy the bittersweet one-shot!

**Sunset**

* * *

 

Years have come and gone, stretched on like endless roads and winding paths. The time gone by shines in his eyes, hazed and clouded beyond countless emotions like happiness, sadness, and even wrath.

The passing time burrows in his skin as fine lines, crow’s feet, and brittle white hair. His bones creak with little movement and his muscles ache with the smallest of twitches. He’s lost his youth decades ago, fleeting as fast as hourglass sand. He’s lost important parts of himself, including a shared pair.

His other half had already set off quite some time ago; left behind his mortal coil and sailed into the sky by his soul alone. Now he, whose name matches the puffy condensation in the golden sky, sits outside on a creaky porch swing rocking very slow.

Not a day that goes by where he thinks of the half he loved and lost. The weight it bears carries itself with him like a weight to his chest and a fog to his head. But it was simply his time –his beloved was old and tired as he is now. Such a long life spent together, now the loneliness was quite the cost.

His head faintly shakes, neck groaning from the action and loudly popping. He hasn’t lost all of his mobility yet, but it has decreased as the lines decorating his skin increased. Most lonely evenings he spends outside on this rickety porch swing –where he had once spent many mornings with his other. His normal quiet routine showed no signs of stopping.

Tired Mako blue eyes stare into the fading golden light beyond the stretch of countryside. He’s much too tired to tend the land, so the grass sways in the wind like green ocean waves. He’s told the young boy that tends the yard for him to stop showing; He’s already being taken out to tide.

It was a thought that plagued him since the passing of his old pup; how would it feel to finally expire? Would it feel liberating or cold? Would it feel suffocating or warm? The unknown made him shiver even in this waning summer sunshine. What to come afterwards, what events would transpire?

Was there peace beyond demise? Would he find himself in blinding white light and warm breezes? Would his old pup be there to greet him on the other side, looking as young as he had on the day they first met? Would they continue to have amazing adventures on the rise?

It was hard to tell, hard to see beyond his mortal sights. While he yearned for his beloved significantly and wanted to see him again more than anything, the thought of letting go frightened him. He had lived through so many things over his many years of life, so many near-death experiences somehow avoided. But knowing this was it, this was the last bit of life he had left, well… it made the sunset lose some light.

He wanted to move on –hoping there was indeed some great beyond, but he just wanted to live a little longer; to see more sunsets and sunrises no matter how lonely they may be. A frail, near skeletal hand rests over his sunken chest. All he could do was let go, and for himself see.

Was this really the end? Or was this somehow a brand new beginning? He let out a shaky exhale, the action feeling shallow and cold. Even his body was getting lagged. He didn’t have much time left and it only seemed to drag. So many thoughts running through his fuzzy head, so many things left unsaid. So many things he wanted to do, and so many that were long past overdue.

Another shaky breath, training his eyes back towards the dimming skyline. Oranges, reds, and glorious yellows still splashed across the sky, but a deep indigo and storming midnight was approaching from high above. This peaceful ending… was it really fine? Was it really his time?

Another shake of his head and both withered hands on his chest. He ached spiritually and physically, torn between moving on and staying behind –caught in the gray area between black and white. Maybe it was just best to let his short, remaining time do the rest.

Silence. The wind stops playing in the tall grass. The trees simmer down and sit as still as can be. The scene feels like it froze, but crows gently caw from the distance off somewhere. From his left, the tired man hears a weight settle on the swing next to him. Hazed eyes are soon in for a sight when he sees someone he’d never thought he’d see again after all the time that had passed.

His old pup was sitting right next to him, looking exactly the same as the day he died. The time creased in his skin was much deeper than his own. The sheen to his fading white hair was brighter, as if his ghostly apparition somehow held more life. But his eyes were as bright as they were in his youth, no clouds and no haze, all bright and no chide.

“How’s it hangin’, Cloud?” He spoke, his voice brittle, but oh so full of spunk.

“…Zack.” Cloud responded, his voice feeling less sunk.

How on Gaia was his beloved sitting with him now? He had faded away some time ago, maybe a few years ago or so. But a cracked smile stretched across Zack’s face, the lines in his eyes grinning at him too. He scooted a little closer, still holding little to no regard for personal space.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Zack suspired, “How am I here now if I’ve already expired?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Cloud agreed, still in awe of the sight.

“Well, I know your time is getting close. So I decided to pay you a visit when I knew you’d need it most.”

“So…I guess my time is close enough that I can actually see you?”

“Uh-huh. You’re in the gray zone; teetering between passing and moving on to someplace new.”

“I see…” Cloud acknowledged, “At least it won’t be as lonely of a death as I thought it would be.”

“What?” Zack laughed, “You really thought I wouldn’t be here to help you cross over from your little rut?”

“I didn’t think you could, you know, already being dead and all.” Cloud observed, his voice sounding much less small.

He never thought he could feel so warm in his last moments, even with the coming night. He never thought he’d get to have such a peaceful passing with the one he loved the most to be with him when it happened, then to help guide him away to a place full of light.

Zack just laughed, sounding like he hadn’t been a day over twenty. Even small tears pricked the corners of his bright eyes and he smiled genuinely at his other half. Where they would soon be going together, the time they’d be with the other was plenty.

He reached over and placed his hand over Cloud’s. The ghostly touch was rather cold, but the old blond still felt warm inside. He had lived a good life –one full of pain and strife, but also of happiness and laughter; It was a life that made him proud.

The two looked towards the setting sun once more. Most of the fiery colors were gone and dusk had settled in their place. Tears brewed in Cloud’s eyes and he found himself leaning against Zack, grinning when he realized he was indeed solid enough to lean on. It was time to end his last chapter, to put away his book, exit the reading room, and close the door.

With his eyes full of happy tears and his body cleansed from his mortal fears, he smiled brightly. He smiled and cried happily like he had never done before. Those ghostly arms wrapped around him tightly and now they felt so warm, much less cold then they had initially been. He felt so at peace. He closed his eyes and basked in the warmth of his other half: It was time to go now.

So with a final breath, he let it go, then expired lightly just as the sun finally sunk beyond the horizon line.

It was silent and warm for a bit. Cloud was no longer achy, no longer hurting. He felt light and strong again as though he was in his youth once more. Then, when he opened his eyes, a fire in them lit.

He was still sitting on that rickety porch swing, but now he was gazing into the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen. The sky was alright in blues and pinks and golden streaks, the clouds around shining and glimmering like faint stars. It almost took his breath away, his eyes drinking up the stunning serene.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” A voice from his left asked.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder and was quick to breathlessly gasp.

Zack was sitting next to him looking exactly as he did when they first met. His skin was full and radiant, his eyes that bright Mako blue again. His thick black hair was a completely disheveled mess and that one strand that fell in his face brought it all together; he was his complete set.

But now he had a pale yellow halo sitting crooked atop his head, something that just seemed in character for him. Spread across his back were marvelous white wings with gray tips, and they moved just like any other limb.

It was gorgeous and breathtaking –seeing his other half young and free again, instead of being trapped in a frail body that never seemed to stop shaking.

Cloud glanced at his own hands to find them sturdy and strong again. He brought them up to his face and patted his cheeks, grinning wildly when he felt their fullness. That faint amount of baby fat that lined his face even at age twenty-five had come back. He ran his hands through his hair, smile growing even wider when it didn’t feel like coarse straw against brittle flesh. He patted his face again, feeling like he was imagining it all. But he was not, and now that fact was ascertained.

“Welcome to the Lifestream, Cloud.” Zack motioned, fanning his hand out towards the glorious sunrise.

“Wait, I thought the Lifestream was just some kind of green river?” Cloud surmised.

“I thought that too at first, but then I found out that it’s a beautiful landscape –just like our house in the countryside. It’s like a map that stretches on and on, and it changes along the ride!”

“So… Could this place also be Nibelheim, or Midgar?”

“Yup! Even Banora, the Gold Saucer, or Gongaga! Best part? They aren’t even that far!”

“It’s like…”

“Life after death.” Zack finished, fishing the words right out of Cloud’s mouth before he could say them. He smiled, the action never dim.

He hopped up from the porch swing with a bounce in his step. He gently turned on his heel and held his hands out to the blond still sitting in the swing, who was giving him a weird look due to the sudden pep.

“You ready to come exploring with me?” Zack offered with a smile.

Cloud mimicked the action and was quick to spring out of the swing, golden yellow wings unfurling from his back. He flew right into the arms of his significant other with a carefree laugh, arms circling around the other and completely covered in warmth that never lacked.

“You bet!” Cloud agreed with a voice freed from all wrongs.

He was finally right where he belonged…

* * *

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading~! <3 If you want, let me know what you thought in a comment or kudo :)


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